Device for stretching pelts or skins.



1. B. NOYES.

DEVICE FOR STRETGHING PELTS on SKINS.

APPLICATION nun MAY 12, 1910.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

a M v W 1 NVENTOR WITNESSES j u g; 2%62 -ATTORNEY.

CQLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO.,WASH1NGTON. D. c.

UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE.

PIERREPONT B. NOYES, 0F ONEIDA, NEW YORK, A SSIGNOR TO ONEIDA. COMMUNITYLIMITED, OF ONEIDA, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

Application filed May 12, 1910. Serial No. 560,835.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LPIERREPONT B.NOYES, of Oneida, in the county ofMadison, in the State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Devices for Stretching Pelts or Skins, of Which thefollowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in devices for stretchingpelts or skins as they are stripped from the animal, inside out, intubular form preparatory to drying, curing or tanning. These pelts orskins are drawn tightly over an expansible or extensible frame which isadjusted or vtensioned so as to stretch or tighten the pelt laterallyand unless some provision is made for stretching .the intermediateportions longitudinally, such intermediate portions shrink and thereforeshorten considerably during the drying process, therebyreducing the sizeand value of the pelt or skin.

My object is to prevent this longitudinal shrinkage by providing atleast one end of the frame with a comparatively broad flat body of woodor equivalent material adapted to receive tacks, nails or similarfastening devices by which the end or ends of the pelt may be secured tothe block.

Another object is to provide an expansible frame in the form of aU-shape wire spring of suitable size to receive the entire pelt andhaving the ends of its arms operatively con-' nected by a toothed baralong which the end of one of the arms is adjustable and adapted to beheld in its adjusted position by the teeth of said bar.

Other objects and uses relating to specific:

parts of the device will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation frame similar to that seen inFig. 1, except that the U-shape bar and locking bar are formed of asingle piece of wire.

In carrying out the objects stated, I provide a U-shape frame 1- ofsuitable size to receive an entire pelt, as A, and consisting of asingle piece of spring wire having the free ends of'it-s opposite arms,as a, terminating in eyes 2 and -2 for receiving and supporting atransverse locking bar 3. One end of the bar 3 is provided with an eye4- which is pivotally interlocked with or swivel-0on nected to the eye-2. The opposite end of the bar extends through and is guided in the eyeor loop -2-,and is provided with a series of teeth -5 on one sidethereof for interlocking engagement with a suitable shoulder 6- on theadjacent side oflthe eye 2-- for the purpose of holding the adjacent armof the frame 1 in its adjusted position relatively to the opposite arm.

The normal form of the frame 1 is made to conform as nearly as possibleto the original form and size of the flattened tubular pelt which isadapted to be dried thereon. The arms of the frame usually diverge fromthe curved portion which unites them at one end, so that when the peltis thus mounted on the frame, the free ends of the arms a may be spreadapart thus moving the eye 2 and toothed bar 3 relatively to each other,thereby stretching the pelt to the desired degree laterally. When thepelt is thus stretched by and be tween the arms a, the shoulder 6 of theeye 2 is engaged by the adjacent tooth 5 of the locking bar 3 to lockthe arms a-in their adjusted position.

This lateral stretching of the pelt and also the drying of the sametends to shrink or draw the ends of the intermediate portion toward eachother and in order to overcome this tendency a substantially flat orslightly wedge-shape block -7 of wood or equivalent material ispivotally mounted at one end upon the locking bar 3 between the freeends of the arms aor eyes 2 and 2. This block is comparatively broadlaterally and when in operative positionextends inwardly between and insubstantially the same plane as the arms w, so that when the pelt isdrawn over and upon said arms, it is also drawn over and upon theinwardly projecting portion of the block 7 in such manner that theopposite sides of the pelt lie flatwise against the corresponding sidesof the block.

\Vhen the free ends of the arms a are adjusted to properly stretch thepelt laterally and locked in their adjusted po sitions, the adjacentends of the intermediate portions of opposite sides of the pelt aredrawn or stretched tightly lengthwise and fastened in this position bysuitable fastening means, as tacks or nails 8, thereby firmly holdingthis portion of the pelt in its longitudinally stretched position, byreason of the fact that the block -7 is anchored to the locking bar -3.

One of the main features of the invention consists in providing theintermediate portion of the locking bar between the free ends of thearms a with a plate or block having fastening members by which the adjacent ends of the pelt may be held in their longitudinally stretchedposition, and,therefore, I do not limit myself to the use of a woodblock and nails or tacks. Another feature of the invention lies inmaking the frame of a single piece of spring wire bent U-shape andhaving its free ends adjustable relatively to each other and providedwith means for holding them in their adjusted position. It is evident,however, that this frame may be constructed of any suitable springmaterial. A still further feature of advantage in the use of the plate 7is that it may be reversed on the locking bar 3- to receive anyappendages or extensions of the pelt, such for example as the tail,which might be used to stretch the intermediate portion of at least oneside of the pelt longitudinally and then tacked or otherwise secured tothe plate.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a locking bar 3 as integrally united at one endto one of the arms, as a,, of the U-shape frame and having its other endpassed through an eye 2 and provided with teeth --5- corresponding tothe parts -2 and 5 shown in Fig. 1. This modification may be thepreferred form, because the locking bar and U-shape frame are made of asingle piece of spring wire, so that the locking bar forms practically acontinuation of the locking arms a bent at an angle therewith, so as toride freely through the eye 2, but spring tensioned so as to engage itsteeth 5 with the shoulder 6 in the manner previously described, it beingunderstood that the plate 7- is mounted upon the intermediate portion ofthe bar 3' in the same manner as shown in Fig. 1. Aside from the factthat the bar 3 forms a continuation of one of the arms a, theconstruction and operation is substantially the same as the device shownin Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4.

hat I claim is:

1. A pelt stretching device comprising an inverted U-shaped frame formedfrom a strip of resilient material having one of the arms thereofprovided at its free end with an eye, a shoulder formed interiorly ofthe eye, a locking bar connected at one end to the opposite arm of theframe and having its free end received through said eye, teeth formedalong said locking bar at its free end to engage said shoulder, and arelatively wide wedge-shaped block pivotally mounted at its thick end onsaid bar between the arms of the frame for use in attaching a hidestretched on the frame either when the block lies between the arms or isswung around on the bar to project beyond the free ends of the arms, thethin end of said block being unattached to the frame.

2. In a pelt stretching device, an inverted U-shaped frame having one ofthe arms thereof provided at its free end with an eye, a shoulder formedinteriorly of the eye, a locking bar connected at one end to the freeend of the other arm of said frame and having its free end receivedthrough the eye on the first-mentioned arm, teeth formed along said barto engage the shoulder in said eye, and a relatively wide wedgeshapedblock through which the locking bar extends adjacent the thick end ofthe block, said block being free to swing on the bar so as to liebetween the arms or extend beyond the free ends of the latter.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 30th day April1910.

PIERREPONT B. NOYES.

Witnesses:

S. WAYLAND SMITH, J. M. MILNES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

